Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Tanner
Iprobably should have given her a warning. Then again, where’s the fun in that?
“What is this?” Berkleigh’s eyes are trained on Taylor even though her question is aimed at me.
“I told you. It’s your birthday present and I’m expecting you to unwrap it like a good girl.
” My gaze is fixed on Berkleigh’s profile, which is the only reason I don’t miss the tiny quirk at the corner of her lip.
Her moral compass is in a heated argument with her primal instincts and I’m fucking here for it.
It comes as no surprise that I’m rooting for her deep-seeded primeval needs to win out, but that pesky angel on her shoulder may disappoint me.
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but my husband will be looking for me!” Slicing my gaze to Taylor, whose voice hasn’t changed in the slightest since high school, I don’t address her, I speak only to Berkleigh.
“He’s not. Kenneth Robertson the third is too busy being a fucking cliché in a hotel room with his secretary to know or care what’s happening to his wife.” I shrug, leaning back against the work bench where my buddy, Bones, likes to build shit when he’s not out killing the scum of the Earth.
Taylor gasps but it’s all an act. She knows exactly what her husband is doing and as long as he keeps it discreet, she turns the other cheek. The same cheek her husband’s best friend kisses after he rails her from behind twice a week at his lakehouse.
“That’s so sad.” Berkleigh frowns and I can almost see her morality stepping on the devil’s head to crush his influence over her.
Can’t have that, can I?
“Nah. Kenneth’s secretary is a man and Taylor here blackmailed him into marriage. Don’t feel sorry for this cunt.”
And here we fucking go.
“Why am I not surprised? I guess hurting others for your benefit is wired into your DNA.” Crossing her arms over her chest, Berkleigh takes a more powerful stance, with her leather-clad legs spread shoulder width apart and her head cocked to the side.
“And who the fuck made you a saint, huh? I’m the victim here. He fucking drugged me and kidnapped me. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Damn, I really do hate her voice, and if my Sweet Bee doesn’t do something quickly, my need to shut this bitch up is going to ruin Berkleigh’s present.
Meanwhile, I force myself to keep busy by picking up the rubber band Bones left on the bench. Pulling and twisting and ignoring the growing need to rip Taylor’s head off her shoulders just so I can witness the life fade from her eyes, I keep my focus on that fucking rubber band.
“Taylor, do you even feel any remorse for the shit you put me through over the years? The bullying and the cruelty? You killed my fucking rabbit!” My head snaps up and my eyes narrow, first at Berkleigh, then at Taylor.
My facial expressions are schooled, any emotion I may have is hidden behind a wall of complete disinterest. Inside, however, I’m a boiling lake of lava bubbling at dangerous levels and moments away from decimating everything around me.
“Didn’t know you had a rabbit—”
“I had nothing to do with that.” Taylor cuts me off and it takes every ounce of self control not to rip her tongue out of her mouth and nail it to her forehead.
“There’s no one around to impress, you know. Lying won’t help you.” Berkleigh is seething, spitting her words through clenched teeth. As much as I understand her focus on Taylor, I’m still confused about this rabbit situation.
“Berkleigh.” My tone cuts through the air and her attention snaps back to me. When our eyes lock, I cock my head to the side and narrow my gaze. “What rabbit?”
My question makes her shoulders sag and her voice tremble just the slightest amount.
There’s no denying that I’m wholly unfamiliar with these pesky emotions and navigating them is driving me further down the road of insanity.
However, I loathe seeing her suffer with every mention of Taylor’s bullying.
Granted, I have my own responsibility to deal with when it comes to her past. Even though I never actively bullied her, I made sure our friendship was cut off from all oxygen, and by doing that, it left her wide open to attacks.
A lot of the shit Berkleigh thinks I did was actually Taylor’s handiwork, but I never corrected her.
“I got a mean girls’ version of a hazing, and when I came to, I was being lowered from the lamppost on Cedar Road by the EMT.
” It’s impossible to miss the full body shiver that runs down Berkleigh’s spine like she’s still out there as we speak.
“Bugsy was a bloodied mess on the frozen ground and everyone thought it was just an innocent prank gone wrong.”
“I see.” Stretching the limits of the rubber band, I nod at Berkleigh’s explanation.
My eyes are trained on Taylor, wondering if she’s afraid.
Does she know she’s trapped in a basement with a predator?
Maybe even two? Earlier, when I picked her up from her nail appointment, there was no fight, flight, or freezing going on.
She was like a baby fawn walking up to a starving wolf, ignoring any instinct for survival and confirming Darwin’s theory. It’s easy pickings with this one.
“Well? Are you sorry for any of it?” Berkleigh isn’t deterred from her question.
I’m ready for the bloody part of this birthday party, but I guess my girl needs to have answers, so I’ll have to practice my skills in patience.
My first clue that I’m about to get my wish is the instant sneer on Taylor’s face. This woman’s parents clearly failed at teaching her to read a room.
“You’re insane.” Taylor’s words are slow and deliberate. I can almost taste the coppery tang of blood as I picture her bathed in Berkleigh’s vengeance. “It was like, twelve years ago. Get the fuck over it, bitch.”
Now I’m just fucking grinning and wondering…if I light Taylor’s hair on fire, would it be considered a birthday candle?
“I’m insane, she says.” Berkleigh shakes her head, slicing her gaze to me, and at this point, I think she’s shedding her morals altogether.
It’s such a luminous awakening, like all the pressure from normality is circling the proverbial drain and her fucks are no longer available.
They’ve left the building. Hell, they’ve left the fucking planet.
“Yup. Which is funny because you’re a psychiatrist.” I release the rubber band, and with Hawkeye precision, it snaps on Taylor’s forehead.
“Ow! Oh my God, what the fuck? Seriously!” For someone who’s about to die, she’s really fucking annoying.
“I’m all for playing with my toys but this one is getting real boring, real quick.” I stand to my full height and step behind Berkleigh, my mouth at her ear and my hands at her waist. “Do you know where her kids were while she was getting her nails done?”
I know my mistake as soon as the question leaves my lips.
“Oh, God, she has children?” Berkleigh’s conscience is back in the game. Fucking rookie mistake.
“Barely,” I whisper, but the little bully hears me and tries playing my girl like a fiddle.
“Yes! I do. Kiara and Sierra. They’re…” Taylor frowns like she’s trying to figure out quantum physics. “Four. Twins. Oh, my God, my babies.” Crocodile tears start running down her face but I’m having none of that shit.
“Tanner, we can’t. She…has babies.” I’m losing her to her humanity, but I know exactly how to fix this little SNAFU—Situation Normal: All Fucked Up.
“Ask me where she left her kids today.” I squeeze her hip to remind her of who’s in charge, and that tiny gasp of air tells me she got the message loud and clear.
“Where did she leave her kids?” We’re both looking straight at Taylor as we continue our little chit chat, and as I give my truth to Berkleigh, I revel in the way our captive’s face loses all color.
“In the back seat of her car with all the windows closed.” My teeth latch onto Berkleigh’s ear lobe and I suck it, hard enough to make her melt into me.
“They had their phones!”
Yeah, keep telling yourself that’s justification enough.
“Well, in that case…” I start to move away from Berkleigh but her arm snaps behind her and her fingers latch onto my sweatshirt.
“What’s going to happen to her daughters?”
“They’ll never survive without me, Berk—leigh.” Taylor almost uses my girl’s nickname from high school—and yes, that was my doing—but she corrects her trajectory at the last second.
“My guess is their father is going to take really good care of them. Maybe even save them from their mother’s cuntiness.”
“No! You can’t—” Taylor is screaming for help, her screeching voice bouncing from the soundproof walls. “Help! Help!”
“Sweet Bee, she needs to die.” I’m practically whining, and without waiting for Berkleigh’s response, I curl my fingers around the loose strands of her hair and slam my mouth against hers.
Our kiss is hungry and full of dangerous anticipation. My tongue sweeps right in and I take control of the situation, take away her doubts and kiss away her misgivings.
The world will be a better place without the bane of Berkleigh’s existence, that’s the message she needs to feel and understand.
When we pull apart and open our eyes, I see it. Behind the shine of her big blues, the uncertainty has faded just enough for me to land the final blow.
“Do you remember when you got accidentally locked inside your college library?” My hands are cupping her face, her brows slanting in confusion at my sudden change of subject.
“Yeah, of course. But the better question is how do you know about that?” She’s cute with her useless questions. Which, of course, I ignore.
“Taylor sucked off the student on duty so he’d close early and not do a runthrough to check if anyone was left behind.” My words have the same effect as a slap to her face. She tries to take a step back but I’m not done.